🔗 Share this article

Residents of the Big Apple will learn who will be their next mayor this election day, in a race that will decide who governs and protects the country's largest city at a time when Donald Trump has vowed to send armed forces to the urban center.

In this context, New York has experienced a mayoral election that has pitted two very different Democrats against each other. The contest has turned into an acrimonious showdown, marked by accusations of racism and anti-Muslim sentiment, but it is the ideological divide between the two main contenders that could have significant consequences for how the Democratic party fares in next year's congressional races.

The Rising Progressive

On the left side is Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist whose rapid ascent and people-powered movement has attracted global notice. On the establishment side is the former governor, the former New York governor now campaigning independently – and benefiting from the support of ultra-rich donors and big business.

As the election approaches, it is Mamdani, the one-time underdog who defeated Cuomo in the party primary who is firmly installed as the frontrunner. The candidate, who has run on a agenda of affordability and pledged to freeze rent for about two million city residents, has outpaced his rival by significant margins across all surveys taken in the fall, and it is very much the progressive's race to throw away.

A Bitter Contest

Yet, the former governor, who resigned as the state's leader in recent years amid allegations of misconduct, has stated clearly he will battle to the end, and not necessarily in an fair manner. He has trashed Mamdani's objectives as unrealistic, and in recent days chuckled along as a broadcaster made anti-Muslim comments about Mamdani, who is a Muslim. Two weeks ago, the independent was strongly criticized as racist after posting an AI-generated ad that included a slew of racial caricatures and showed his opponent releasing a group of criminals.

It's been a particularly ugly end to an election that could be key to the path that the party, floundering in its reaction to the former president's power moves, adopts in the coming years.

Broader Consequences

If the progressive wins convincingly, the establishment party leaders who have declined to support his bid will be forced to reckon with a platform that has appealed to Americans' anger at inequality, inflation and the establishment. It would be difficult for Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries not to adopt at least some of Mamdani's ambitious ideas about economic justice, given the newcomer has created an excitement within the party perhaps not witnessed since the Vermont senator ran for president in 2016.

However, if the former governor, who had been predicted to win easily in the June primary, achieve a remarkable comeback win, it could reinforce national Democrats' existing approach of cautious, uninspiring resistance – a tactic that has angered grassroots members. A NYC defeat of the progressive's optimistic platform could convince Schumer and Jeffries that the best plan is to remain in the center – even as surveys show the present version of the party is widely disliked across the country.

Voter Enthusiasm

Residents of New York appear to favor the progressive agenda. Surveys show that Mamdani supporters are far more enthusiastic about their choice than Cuomo backers, something that has been evident throughout the campaign. The candidate's engaging content on digital platforms, his hopeful outlook for New York and his willingness to actually get out and meet people in the metropolis has attracted an force of more than 50,000 volunteers, many of them young or new participants.

Negative Tactics

Yet, Cuomo, 67, continues to fight. And with the risks against him, the ex-leader has turned to negative campaigning in recent weeks.

After spending months launching various attacks at his opponent to see what might resonate, the independent has concentrated on attacking the candidate personally. He has labelled Mamdani, who was of Ugandan origin to Indian parents, an “extremist”, and appeared on Fox Business for an discussion with a rightwing host, where the candidate asserted New York “will not survive” Mamdani as city leader. It hit bottom recently, when Cuomo chuckled and said “that’s another problem” after a broadcaster said the candidate would “cheer” another 9/11-style attack.

Political Landscape

The line of attack echoes much of what Trump, who has deployed the military reserves to Washington DC and warned to do the same to NYC, has said about the progressive, and maybe that is expected. A set of wealthy residents, including some who contributed to Trump in the last presidential race, have pumped millions into trying to elect the independent into office, as other influential figures have pressured Curtis Sliwa to drop out from the contest.

Political Histories

For the Cuomo camp, and his billionaire supporters, are concerned, it should not have reached to this. When Mamdani, one of 150 New York state assembly members, launched his mayoral bid in last year, few had known him, and in truth, barely anyone even noticed.

Cuomo, by contrast, entered smoothly into the race in this year and became the immediate frontrunner. He was the political heavyweight who apparently held all the advantages. The classic political insider, he had married a political dynasty member and worked in Bill Clinton’s administration. He became New York governor in 2011, seventeen years after his father, the former governor, stepped down from the identical role.

Mamdani, who was elected to the New York state assembly in 2020, does not have the same political heritage. But his commitment to providing no-cost transit and free childcare – along with the freeze-the-rent pledge – present a brighter outlook of the future than his opponent's pessimistic predictions about “mayhem” and rising criminal activity, and his vow to hire more police officers.

Recent Challenges

Still, Mamdani has faced difficulties in the final phase, after video surfaced appearing to show him suggesting the NYPD and the IDF were connected.

“We have to make clear that when the pressure of the NYPD is on your throat, it’s been influenced by the Israeli military,” Mamdani said in the clip, filmed at a Democratic Socialists of America convention in recent years. Mamdani, a vocal opponent of Israel who has said the nation is engaging in atrocities in the Palestinian territory, suggested he was questioning joint training exercises between the city police and IDF.

Powerful Moment

With the election nearing, Mamdani appears to have won sympathy and support, however, for his reaction to his opponent's increasing rhetoric.

The progressive responded to Cuomo’s terrorism comments in an emotional video. In it, Mamdani recalled how, when he first campaigned for state assembly, a family member advised to him that he did not have to disclose about his Muslim faith. It was a realization, Mamdani said, that many Muslim New Yorkers had been taught “again and again”: “That safety could only be found in the margins of our community. That it is in those shadows alone where followers of Islam could express their true selves, and that if we were to emerge from those seclusion, then it is in those shadows that we must set aside our beliefs.”

Addressing the actions of Cuomo and Sliwa, who has claimed Mamd